An Apparel 3PL for San Diego Brands

Many San Diego apparel brands start the way most brands do: packing orders in a garage, a studio or a small warehouse unit. That works at a few hundred orders a month. Past a thousand, packing, receiving and returns start to take over the team's week.

The next step is usually a 3PL. The question is where. A warehouse in another state may look cheaper on a rate sheet. It also means inventory far from the ports, far from your West Coast customers and far from your team.

A warehouse in Orange County keeps everything in Southern California. Production that lands at Los Angeles or Long Beach has a short trip to our dock. West Coast customers are a few zones away. And your team can drive up to see the inventory, meet the people packing it, or sort out a problem in person.

Surf brands sell in several directions at once: direct to customers online, to independent surf shops, and sometimes to larger retailers. Demand rises into spring and summer and drops after.

• One inventory for your site and your surf-shop accounts, so you do not split stock between two places.
• Retail-compliant labeling, ASNs and palletized freight for larger accounts, with smaller wholesale orders shipped as parcels.
• Storage based on the space you use and pro-rated daily, so it grows into summer and shrinks after.
• Size-sorted slotting for boardshorts, tees, hoodies and swim in full size runs.

We handle oversized hardgoods such as boards too. Send dimensions and volumes up front so storage and shipping are planned before they arrive. See surf brand fulfillment and surf apparel seasonality.

Streetwear sells in bursts. A release goes live and most of the orders arrive in the first hours. Teddy Fresh, the Los Angeles streetwear brand, ships from our Anaheim warehouse. The same drop-day planning applies to San Diego labels.

1. Share the drop date, styles, size curve and expected order count at least a week ahead.
2. Inventory is received with an ASN and slotted before launch.
3. Bundles and gift-with-purchase kits are built ahead where it helps.
4. On launch day every unit is scanned at the pick and orders imported by 12 PM PST ship the same day.
5. Exchanges and returns after the drop are handled within 48 hours.

See apparel drop fulfillment and planning a streetwear drop.

Activewear catalogs carry long size runs, many colorways and steady replenishment of core pieces. Accuracy at the pick and a fast returns loop matter most.

• Every size and color in its own location, so a picker is not choosing between similar leggings in a mixed bin.
• A scan on every pick, so the right size and color go in the box.
• Multipacks and sets built to stock or to order.
• Returns inspected and restocked within 48 hours, with return reasons reported by SKU.

See activewear fulfillment.

Some brands assume their 3PL must be in the same city. What matters more is that the people running your account are in the building with your inventory, and that you can get there when it counts.

Your account manager works on site at our Anaheim fulfillment center, in the same building as your inventory. When something is urgent you call and talk to a person who can walk to the shelf and fix it. Call anytime. We are here. We got you.

All client requests are acknowledged within two hours, and support is never outsourced.

For a San Diego brand, that means a phone call answered by someone who can walk to the shelf, and a warehouse you can visit before a big launch or bring your team to for a walkthrough.

Orders ship from Anaheim to customers everywhere, rate-shopped per package, with shipping billed at what the carrier charges. The warehouse is near major carrier sorting hubs, so packages can be handed off later in the day and still make that night's outbound.

For customers in Southern California and across the West, a shipment from Orange County crosses few zones. For customers elsewhere, carrier choice and right-sized packaging do most of the work. See how shipping zones work.

1. Talk to us about your volume, SKU count, channels and calendar.
2. Export on-hand quantity by SKU, size and color.
3. We connect your store, map every variant and run test orders.
4. Send inventory in waves with an ASN, keeping enough behind to cover orders in transit.
5. Each labeled inbound is received and slotted within one business day.
6. Daily orders switch over first. Your first drop runs after that.

Most clients go live within five to ten business days, depending on complexity. See switching apparel 3PLs.

See in-house vs 3PL past 1,000 orders if you are still packing yourself.

Will we lose touch with our inventory?

No. Live inventory by SKU, size and color is in your dashboard and syncs with your store. Weekly reporting covers service levels, shipping costs and inventory status. And because your account manager is on site, a question about a specific shelf gets an answer from someone who can look at it.

Can we still do our own special orders?

Yes. Custom packing, gift notes, influencer kits and one-off shipments all go through the same system. Tell your account manager what you need and it is packed to your instructions.

What happens on a drop day?

Labor is planned from your forecast. Your account manager is on the floor, and you can call if something unexpected happens, like a style selling much faster than planned.

What does it cost?

OC3PL does not publish rates. Pricing is quoted around your SKUs, order volume and workflows, with every line item spelled out, no setup fees and no minimums. See apparel fulfillment pricing.

Many San Diego brands sell more in spring and summer, when the weather and the surf bring customers in, and get a second lift from holiday gifting. Plan inventory and storage around that curve.

• Bring summer lines in and have them slotted before demand rises.
• Plan wholesale ship dates with your surf-shop accounts, who order ahead of their own season.
• Review slow stock every month so leftovers do not sit through the winter.
• Plan holiday gift sets early and build them ahead.

Storage at OC3PL is based on the space your inventory actually uses and pro-rated daily, so it grows into the season and shrinks after.

Wholesale is often how San Diego surf and lifestyle brands grow: independent surf shops first, then larger retailers. The warehouse needs to handle both small parcel orders and full retail-compliant shipments.

See how surf brands sell wholesale and apparel wholesale and retail fulfillment.

• Every weekday, orders flow in from your store and marketplaces. Orders imported by 12 PM PST ship the same day.
• Inbound from the ports or local producers is received against your ASN and slotted within one business day.
• Returns are inspected and restocked or set aside within 48 hours.
• Each week, your account manager sends reporting on service levels, shipping costs and inventory status.
• Invoices arrive weekly, with every line item spelled out.
• When something comes up, you call and talk to a person on site.

Before a drop or a big promotion, you share the date and forecast and the week is planned around it.

Coastal brands often carry more than tees and hoodies. Each category has its own handling.

Tell us your category mix up front so slotting and packing are set up for it from day one.

The first conversation is simple. Tell us your monthly order volume, SKU count, where you sell, your drop and season calendar, and what is not working today. You will talk with the people who would run your account, not a sales script.

From there you get a line-item quote built around your catalog, an onboarding plan with dates, and an invitation to visit the warehouse in Anaheim. Most clients go live within five to ten business days, depending on complexity. Bring your team, bring your questions, and bring the apparel 3PL checklist. We are here. We got you.